We were kinda rednecky, kinda reckless boys. Not the rednecks that listened to country and wore camouflage. But we loved breaking rules and didn't mind trouble.
We weren't as pretty as the lady catchers or as big as the jocks. We didn't drive fancy cars. Our clothes were clean, at best. We weren't frail and studious, although some of us worked hard to hide what we knew. We didn't tuck our shirts in, unless maybe on a date. We didn't chat with teachers, except to give them grief.
We got along.
By the time we were in the older grades, most everyone knew us. We weren't invited to the nicer parties, but we were allowed. We had girlfriends from time to time. Not cheerleaders, except perhaps for a track-crossing anomaly. We were - and to some degree still are - defined by what we're not.
We got along.
And the thoughts and feelings from that period move with me wherever I go and are with me in whatever I do. I pull from them and they pull at me. Although I have memories of previous times, they are shadows, black and white that do me little good.
It was in this stage that I was born, emotionally if not physically. This is the time I decided what kind of man I would be.